Could the band be getting back together again?
Media legend Rupert Murdoch is exploring the potential for a recombination between Fox Corp. and News Corp. The two companies, which he and his family own and operate, fell under the News Corp. umbrella before going their separate ways nearly a decade ago, in 2013.
The Wall Street Journal, an integral brand within the News Corp. portfolio, broke the news Friday and Fox and News Corp. saying a special committee has been formed to explore a union.
There is no guarantee a merger will result from the discussions, however, the companies say.
Any merger would re-unite the Fox Corp. properties, which include Fox Broadcasting, Fox News Media and Fox Sports, along with News Corp. properties like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, News UK, Dow Jones & Co., the Harper Collins book publishing brand and more.
The re-imagined company would of course no longer include 21st Century Fox, the entertainment TV/film group which Murdoch sold to the Walt Disney Company in 2019 as part of the $71 billion mega merger.
Rupert Murdoch serves as executive chairman of News Corp. and chairman of Fox Corp. Murdoch’s son Lachlan Murdoch serves as CEO of Fox Corp., and as co-chairman of News Corp., while News Corp. is led by CEO Robert Thomson. It remains to be seen what roles these executives would have in any future company that includes all of these brands, although it would certainly make for a great future season of HBO’s Succession.